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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
When everything around us seems to be crashing and we think nothing else could possibly happen, it invariably does.
Problems have a domino effect – one problem creates another and so on. At such times, we cry out to God for strength and hope. Having hope is so important that I wanted to share my thoughts about it with you again.
Throughout scripture, we read stories of God gracing His people with faith, hope, and trust. Scripture says something good and desirable can happen, even in the worst of times.
“But those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.”
—Isaiah 40:31
Hope! It is a gift I cannot refuse.
It is the conviction that God will be there with me through all things. He catches me when reality doesn’t match my expectations and I begin to fall. When reality has dashed my dreams, I need to turn my fear of falling into floating with the confidence that God is with me, ready to set me safely on the ground.
Hope encourages
When encouraged, we gain confidence. Within confidence, we find courage.
Hope motivates
With encouragement, we become motivated to look for solutions to tough problems and difficult life situations.
Hope energizes
When we’re feeling helpless and hopeless, our energy is drained, and depression settles into every cell and fiber of our body. Hope changes that in an instant. It allows us to focus on what we can do rather than what we cannot do. Hope literally changes the chemistry in our body.
Hope expects
When we’re hopeful, we expect a different outcome. We don’t worry about whether the earth will keep rotating, or whether the sun will come up in the morning or go down at night. We know that when the sun is hidden in the clouds, it still exists.
Hope expects that tomorrow can be brighter than today, that our pain will recede, and that we will experience joy again. Hope says that when the world seems dark and we think we have been locked in a prison of despair, we can place our expectations on God for help in our time of need.
Hope believes
When we place our expectations in God, we believe that He not only exists, but that He loves us and will never leave or desert us. He gives us the strength to endure. Hope believes God’s word that says He cares personally about each of us, and that His love is so great, He was willing to die for us.
Hope never gives up
Hope doesn’t quit. When we are exhausted and think we can’t do anything more, we hear God whispering to us, “I am there with you. Try again – one more time.” We feel His arms carry us. We hear His promises in our ear and feel His strength flow into us. He intervenes in our lives.
Hope surrenders
We begin to experience hope when we surrender to the knowledge that we do not know it all, will never know it all, and need God to survive. Hope relies on something greater than us. We recognize that we are not sufficient unto ourselves.
In that surrender, we let go and let God. The focus is no longer on making something happen but on surrendering to God and adjusting our responses. As we look for and find blessings in all things, we find peace and hope.
When we celebrate Easter, we are celebrating that story of hope that reveals life after death, a new life beyond the grave; a hope of salvation made possible by God. Within our tragedies lies new hope and new life as well.
With hope, we can overcome anything.